Home appliance having built-in power meter

ABSTRACT

An appliance includes an operation unit that is mounted in a case of the appliance that is supplied power by an external power supply and that includes at least one of a motor and a heating member. The appliance further includes a control circuit mounted in the case of the appliance and configured to control the operation unit to perform appliance functionality that is different than measuring power. The appliance further includes a power meter coupled to the control circuit, built into the case, and configured to measure power consumed by the appliance in performing the appliance functionality.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2012-0062579 filed on Jun. 12, 2012, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a home appliance having a built-inpower meter configured to measure and observe power consumption of thehome appliance.

BACKGROUND

There are various electric home appliances that operate on suppliedpower including refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, airconditioners, cooking apparatuses, televisions, vacuum cleaners,electric pads and electric rice cookers.

Such electric home appliances are supplied alternating current powersupply from an external power supply when put into operation. Awatt-hour meter is installed in every house to measure watts consumed inthe house.

Recently, there is a growing interest and demand for power-saving, forexample, using power-saving products or using relatively low-pricedoff-peak electricity.

Some electric home appliances have power or wattage consumptiondetermined during the manufacturing process and noted on the appliance.

However, to measure the power or wattage substantially consumed by aspecific home appliance, an auxiliary watt-hour meter (namely, a powermeter) is typically connected to the specific home appliance.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosuremay be embodied in an appliance that includes an operation unit that ismounted in a case of the appliance that is supplied power by an externalpower supply and that includes at least one of a motor and a heatingmember; a control circuit mounted in the case of the appliance andconfigured to control the operation unit to perform appliancefunctionality that is different than measuring power; and a power metercoupled to the control circuit, built into the case, and configured tomeasure power consumed by the appliance in performing the appliancefunctionality.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The power meter includes a voltage-currentmeasuring unit connected to an external power supply and configured tomeasure voltage and current supplied by the external power supply; andan electric power calculation unit configured to calculate an amount ofpower based on the voltage and current measured by the voltage-currentmeasuring unit and configured to output the calculated amount of powerto the control circuit. The external power supply is an alternatingcurrent power supply, and the control circuit includes a rectifierconfigured to rectify alternating current power received from thealternating current power supply into direct current power; atransformer configured to lower voltage of the direct current power; afirst regulator configured to regulate voltage of the direct currentpower lowered by the transformer; and a microcomputer configured tocontrol the appliance and configured to receive the direct current powerregulated by the first regulator.

The electric power calculation circuit is connected to the microcomputerand configured to transmit data on the calculated amount of power to themicrocomputer, and the electric power calculation circuit determines tocalculate the amount of power based on a control of the microcomputer. Aphotocoupler is between the electric power calculation circuit and themicrocomputer. The electric power calculation circuit is configured tobe supplied the direct current power lowered by the transformer. Thecontrol circuit further includes a rectifier circuit connected to thetransformer to rectify the power lowered by the transformer, and theelectric power calculation circuit is connected to the rectifier circuitand is supplied rectified power from the rectifier circuit. The powermeter further includes a second regulator connected between therectifier circuit and the electric power calculation circuit andconfigured to lower voltage of the power rectified by the rectifiercircuit. The second regulator is a Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulator.

The electric power calculation circuit is supplied power from a powersupply circuit for the electric power calculation circuit. The powersupply circuit is connected to the alternating current power supply. Theappliance further includes a display configured to display control andoperational states of the appliance. The control circuit controls thedisplay to display the amount of power consumed by the appliance. Theappliance is a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, or acooking apparatus. The external power supply and the energy calculationcircuit are connected to a first ground and the microcomputer isconnected to a second ground that is different from the first ground.The appliance further includes a photocoupler between the energycalculation circuit and the microcomputer, wherein the photocoupler isconnected to both the first ground and the second ground.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure may be embodied in an appliance that includes an operationunit that is mounted in a case of the appliance that is supplied powerby an external power supply and that includes at least one of a motorand a heating member; a control circuit mounted in the case of theappliance and configured to control the operation unit to performappliance functionality that is different than measuring power; andpower meter means for measuring power consumed by the appliance inperforming the appliance functionality.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The power meter means is connected to thecontrol circuit, is built into the case, and includes a voltage-currentmeasuring unit connected to an external power supply and configured tomeasure voltage and current supplied by the external power supply; andan electric power calculation unit configured to calculate an amount ofpower based on the voltage and current measured by the voltage-currentmeasuring unit and configured to output the calculated amount of powerto the control circuit.

The external power supply is an alternating current power supply, andthe control circuit includes a rectifier configured to rectifyalternating current power received from the alternating current powersupply into direct current power; a transformer configured to lowervoltage of the direct current power; a first regulator configured toregulate voltage of the direct current power lowered by the transformer;and a microcomputer configured to control the appliance and configuredto receive the direct current power regulated by the first regulator.The electric power calculation circuit is connected to the microcomputerand configured to transmit data on the calculated amount of power to themicrocomputer, and the electric power calculation circuit determines tocalculate the amount of power based on a control of the microcomputer. Aphotocoupler is between the electric power calculation circuit and themicrocomputer.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure may be embodied in a method that includes receiving, at anoperation unit that is mounted in a case of an appliance, power that issupplied by an external power supply, the operation unit including atleast one of a motor and a heating member; controlling, by a controlcircuit mounted in the case of the appliance, the operation unit toperform appliance functionality that is different than measuring power;and measuring, by a power meter connected to the control circuit andbuilt into the case, power consumed by the appliance in performing theappliance functionality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of an example home appliance;

FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of an example power meter built in thehome appliance and an example connection between a control circuit andthe power meter; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a structure of an example power meter built in thehome appliance and an example connection between a control circuit andthe power meter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of an example home appliance 10.

The home appliance 10 includes a control circuit 20 mounted in a casethereof to be supplied the external power and a power meter 100 mountedin the case to measure the consumption of the external power in a stateof being connected with the control circuit board.

The home appliance 10 is an electric appliance operated by electricity.Examples of the home appliance may include a refrigerator, a washingmachine, a dishwasher, an air conditioner, a cooking apparatus, atelevision, a vacuum cleaner, an electric pad, an electric rice cookerand the like.

The electric home appliance 10 may use alternating current power supplysupplied to houses.

Accordingly, a plug 11 is connected to the case of the home appliance 10to supply the external power to the home appliance.

The plug 11 is put into an outlet installed in a house to allow the homeappliance 10 to draw power.

The home appliance 10 is configured to be controlled automatically, andit includes a control circuit 20 for the automatic control.

The control circuit 20 controls an operation unit 30 including a motor32 or a heating member 34 according to the type of the home appliance10. The external power is supplied to the operation unit 30 of the homeappliance and to the control circuit 20.

The rated currents and rated voltages supplied to the control circuit 20can be different from the rated currents and rated voltages supplied tothe operation unit 30 of the home appliance. Accordingly, theelectricity supplied to the control circuit 20 may be appropriatelyconverted before supplied to the control circuit 20, which will bedescribed in more detail later.

The power meter 100 is connected with the control circuit 20 that issupplied the external power supply. The power meter 100 measures theconsumption of the power drawn from the external power supply (theamount of the consumed electricity).

Multiplying voltages and currents results in the electricity.Multiplying the electricity by the time results in the amount ofelectricity.

Accordingly, the power meter 100 measures voltages and currents consumedfrom the external power supply. The power meter 100 multiplies themeasured voltages and currents and then multiplies the result by thetime to compute the amount of electricity.

The home appliance 10 may further include a display 40 configured todisplay the operational state of the home appliance 10 and the display40 may have an input unit to control an operation of the home appliance10.

The home appliance 10 may further include a wireless communicationmodule 50 configured to communicate with a computer or a smart device70, such as a smart phone, via a web server 60. The wirelesscommunication module 50 may be connected to the display 40 or thecontrol circuit 20.

The wireless communication module 50 may use Wi-Fi or Zigbee.

With this configuration, the user can check the operational state of thehome appliance remotely via the smart device 70 and input a command tocontrol the home appliance.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example structure of a power meter built in thehome appliance and an example connection between a control circuit andthe power meter.

The power meter 100 may include a voltage-current measuring unit 110connected to the external power supply to measure voltages and currentsof the external power supply and an electric power calculation circuit150 configured to calculate the amount of electricity based on thevoltages and currents measured by the voltage-current measuring unit soas to output the calculated amount to the control circuit 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the voltage-current measuring unit 110 is directlyconnected to the external power supply 21 for measuring the voltages andcurrents of the external power supply 21 that operate the home appliance10.

Accordingly, the voltage-current measuring unit 110 includes a voltagemeasuring part 112 connected with the external power supply 21 inparallel and a current measuring part 114 connected with the externalpower supply 21 in series.

The voltage measuring part 112 is connected with the external powersupply 21 in parallel and may include two resistances connected inseries.

The current measuring part 114 is connected with the external powersupply 21 in series and may include a shunt resistance.

The values of the voltages and currents measured by the voltage-currentmeasuring unit 110 are transmitted to the electric power calculationcircuit 150 and the electric power calculation circuit 150 calculatesthe amount of the electricity consumed by multiplying the measuredvoltages and the currents and then multiplying the result by the time.

The control circuit 20 may include a rectifier 22 configured to rectifythe alternating current (AC) power into a direct current (DC) power, atransformer 23 configured to lower the voltage of the direct currentpower rectified by the rectifier 22, a regulator 26 configured toregulate the voltages of the DC power having passed the transformer 23,and a microcomputer 28 configured to control the operation of the homeappliance by using the electric power supplied from the regulator 26.

The rectifier 22 rectifies the external power supply that is supplied assine-wave alternating current power supply and converts the externalpower into DC power.

The transformer 23 lowers the voltages of the external power supply 21into appropriate voltages usable by the microcomputer 28.

The regulator 26 regulates the voltages of the power having passed thetransformer 23 and supplies the regulated DC power to the microcomputer28.

The microcomputer 28 is operated by the voltage-lowered DC power andcontrols the operation of the home appliance 20. The microcomputer 28may control the display 40 to display an operational state of the homeappliance 20 and implement a control command input by the user.

The electric power calculation circuit 150 is connected with themicrocomputer 28 and transmits data of the measured electric energy tothe microcomputer 28. Also, the electric power calculation circuit 150may determine whether to measure the amount of the electricity based onthe control of the microcomputer 28.

To determine whether to measure the amount of electricity, a device forwired or wireless communication may be connected between the electricpower calculation circuit 150 and the microcomputer 28.

Examples of such a communication device include a UART (UniversalAsynchronous Receiver/Transmitter).

The UART is a hardware device configured to automatically performserial-parallel data conversion necessary for asynchronouscommunication.

A photocoupler 160 is disposed before the electric power calculationcircuit 150 is connected to the microcomputer 28 via the communicationdevice, to electrically isolate a transmitter and a receiver withrespect to a signal.

The electric power calculation circuit 150 may receive the electricitythat passes through the transformer 23 of the control circuit 20.

The electric energy circulation unit 150 is the circuit configured tocalculate the amount of the electricity from the voltage value and thecurrent value input from the voltage-current measuring unit 110.Typically, the power for operating the electric energy circulation unit150 can be the electric power having lower voltages, compared withvoltages of the external power supply.

If the electric power calculation circuit 150 receives the electricpower having passed the transformer 23, the electric power calculationcircuit 150 may be supplied the lowered voltage power, with no auxiliarytransformer.

The control circuit 20 may further include a rectifier circuit 25connected to the transformer 23 to rectify the power having passedthrough the transformer. The electricity energy calculation circuit 150is connected to the rectifier circuit 25 to be supplied the rectifiedelectricity.

The electricity having passed through the transformer 23 is typicallyrectified via the rectifier 22. However, the rectifier 22 is composed ofone rectifier element such as a diode and it flows negative or positiveelectricity there to perform half wave rectification.

The rectifier circuit 25 reverses the negative or positive electricityinto the other and performs full wave rectification. Also, the rectifiercircuit 25 includes a condenser and can smooth out electricity.

The power meter 100 may further include a regulator 130 connectedbetween the rectifier circuit 25 and the electric power calculationcircuit 150 to lower voltages of the electricity having passed throughthe rectifier circuit 25 into properly lowered voltages.

The transformer 23 is configured to lower the voltages of theelectricity supplied to the microcomputer 28 into properly loweredvoltages. The voltages of the electricity used for the microcomputer 28may be different from rated voltages of the electricity used for theelectric power calculation circuit 150.

Accordingly, the regulator 130 may regulate the DC power having thevoltages lowered by the rectifier circuit 25 into DC power having moreproperly lowered voltages.

The regulator 130 may be a Low Drop-out (LDO) regulator, different fromthe regulator 26 connected to the microcomputer 28.

For example, the electricity having 5V lowered by the rectifier circuit25 is regulated into the electricity having 3.3V that will be suppliedto the electric power calculation circuit 150.

Numeral references of “1” and “2” refer to grounds and a first ground 1and a second ground 2 are different from each other.

In FIG. 2, the first ground 1 and the second ground 2 are showndifferently.

For example, the external power supply 21 and the electric powercalculation circuit 150 are grounded to the first ground 1. Theregulator 26 and the microcomputer 28 are grounded to the second ground2.

The photocoupler 160 is grounded to the first ground 1 and the secondground 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example structure of a power meter built in thehome appliance and an example connection between a control circuit andthe power meter.

In FIG. 3, the electric power calculation circuit 150 is directlyconnected to the external power supply 21 to be supplied the electricityand a power supply circuit 140 is connected between the external powersupply 21 and the electric power calculation circuit 150.

The electric power calculation circuit 150 may be supplied theelectricity via the power supply circuit 140 for the electric powercalculation circuit 150 that is directly connected to the external powersupply 21.

The rectifier circuit 25 of FIG. 2, which is disposed between thetransformer 23 and the regulator 130 of FIG. 2, is omitted in FIG. 3.However, the power supply circuit 140 for the electric power calculationcircuit rectifies the external power supply 21 and converts (or lowers)voltages of the external power supply 21 to regulate the external powersupply. After that, the regulated external power supply is supplied tothe electric power calculation circuit 150.

Data of the electric energy calculated by the electric power calculationcircuit 150 is transmitted to the microcomputer 28 via the photocoupler160 and a UART.

As shown in FIG. 1, the microcomputer 28 of the control circuit 20controls the display 40 to display the received data on the amount ofthe electricity, such that the user can be notified of the electricityconsumed by the home appliance.

In addition, the display 40 is connected to the wireless communicationmodule 50 such that the user can check the power consumption displayedon the user's smart phone or smart TV or the smart device 70, such as acomputer, via the web server 60.

The user can input a control command of controlling the home appliancevia the input unit provided in the display according to a control oroperational state of the home appliance displayed on the display 40.Also, the user can command to selectively measure the power consumptionof the home appliance or the display to selectively display the measuredpower consumption.

The home appliance having the built-in power meter may be arefrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, or a cookingapparatus.

The power meter may be built in a home appliance having relatively highpower consumption. Those electric home appliances mentioned above belongto the home appliances having high power consumption. Accordingly, thepower meter may be built in one of those home appliances and can measurethe power consumption such that the home appliance can save power.

Although implementations have been described with reference to a numberof illustrative examples thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and implementations can be devised by those skilledin the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principlesof this disclosure. More particularly, various variations andmodifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangementsand fall within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and theappended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in thecomponent parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. An appliance comprising: an operation unit thatis mounted in a case of the appliance that is supplied alternatingcurrent power by an external power supply and that includes at least oneof a motor and a heating member; a control circuit mounted in the caseof the appliance and configured to control the operation unit to performappliance functionality that is different than measuring power, whereinthe control circuit comprises: a rectifier configured to rectifyalternating current power received from the external power supply; atransformer configured to lower voltage of the rectified alternatingcurrent power; a first regulator configured to regulate voltage of therectified alternating current power lowered by the transformer; and amicrocomputer configured to control the appliance and configured toreceive the rectified alternating direct current power regulated by thefirst regulator; and a power meter coupled to the control circuit, builtinto the case, and configured to measure power consumed by the appliancein performing the appliance functionality, wherein the power metercomprises: a voltage-current measuring unit connected to the externalpower supply and configured to measure voltage and current supplied bythe external power supply; and an electric power calculation circuitconfigured to calculate an amount of power based on the voltage andcurrent measured by the voltage-current measuring unit and configured tooutput the calculated amount of power to the control circuit.
 2. Theappliance according to claim 1, wherein the electric power calculationcircuit is connected to the microcomputer and configured to transmitdata on the calculated amount of power to the microcomputer, and whereinthe electric power calculation circuit determines to calculate theamount of power based on a control of the microcomputer.
 3. Theappliance according to claim 2, wherein a photocoupler is between theelectric power calculation circuit and the microcomputer.
 4. Theappliance according to claim 1, wherein the electric power calculationcircuit is configured to be supplied the rectified alternating currentpower lowered by the transformer.
 5. The appliance according to claim 1,wherein the control circuit further comprises: a rectifier circuitconnected to the transformer to further rectify the alternating currentpower lowered by the transformer, wherein the electric power calculationcircuit is connected to the rectifier circuit and is supplied rectifiedalternating current power from the rectifier circuit.
 6. The applianceaccording to claim 5, wherein the power meter further comprises: asecond regulator connected between the rectifier circuit and theelectric power calculation circuit and configured to lower voltage ofthe rectified alternating current power rectified by the rectifiercircuit.
 7. The appliance according to claim 6, wherein the secondregulator is a Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulator.
 8. The appliance accordingto claim 3, wherein the electric power calculation circuit is suppliedpower from a power supply circuit for the electric power calculationcircuit, wherein the power supply circuit is connected to the externalpower supply.
 9. The appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:a display configured to display control and operational states of theappliance, wherein the control circuit controls the display to displaythe amount of power consumed by the appliance.
 10. The applianceaccording to claim 9, wherein the appliance is a refrigerator, a washingmachine, an air conditioner, or a cooking apparatus.
 11. The applianceaccording to claim 1, wherein the external power supply and the electricpower calculation circuit are connected to a first ground and themicrocomputer is connected to a second ground that is different from thefirst ground.
 12. The appliance according to claim 11, furthercomprising: a photocoupler between the electric power calculationcircuit and the microcomputer, wherein the photocoupler is connected toboth the first ground and the second ground.
 13. An appliancecomprising: an operation unit that is mounted in a case of the appliancethat is supplied alternating current power by an external power supplyand that includes at least one of a motor and a heating member; acontrol circuit mounted in the case of the appliance and configured tocontrol the operation unit to perform appliance functionality that isdifferent than measuring power, wherein the control circuit comprises: arectifier configured to rectify alternating current power received fromthe external power supply into direct current power; a transformingcircuit configured to lower voltage of the direct current power; a firstregulator configured to regulate voltage of the direct current powerlowered by the transforming circuit; and a microcomputer configured tocontrol the appliance and configured to receive the direct current powerregulated by the first regulator; and power meter means connected to thecontrol circuit, built into the case, and configured to for measurepower consumed by the appliance in performing the appliancefunctionality, wherein the power meter means comprises: avoltage-current measuring unit connected to the external power supplyand configured to measure voltage and current supplied by the externalpower supply; and an electric power calculation circuit configured tocalculate an amount of power based on the voltage and current measuredby the voltage-current measuring unit and configured to output thecalculated amount of power to the control circuit.
 14. The applianceaccording to claim 13, wherein the electric power calculation circuit isconnected to the microcomputer and configured to transmit data on thecalculated amount of power to the microcomputer, and wherein theelectric power calculation circuit determines to calculate the amount ofpower based on a control of the microcomputer.
 15. The applianceaccording to claim 14, wherein a photocoupler is between the electricpower calculation circuit and the microcomputer.
 16. An appliancecomprising: an operation unit that is mounted in a case of the appliancethat is supplied alternating current power by an external power supplyand that includes at least one of a motor and a heating member; acontrol circuit mounted in the case of the appliance and configured tocontrol the operation unit to perform appliance functionality that isdifferent than measuring power, wherein the control circuit comprises: arectifier configured to rectify alternating current power received fromthe external power supply; a transformer configured to lower voltage ofthe rectified alternating current power; a first regulator configured toregulate voltage of the rectified alternating current power lowered bythe transformer; and a microcomputer configured to control the applianceand configured to receive the rectified alternating direct current powerregulated by the first regulator; and a power meter coupled to thecontrol circuit, built into the case, and configured to measure powerconsumed by the appliance in performing the appliance functionality.